Independent climate think-tank Ember reported in a study that carbon emissions from global coal shipping stayed strong despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and growing environmental scrutiny. Coal is one of the major commodities shipped by the dry bulk shipping industry. European countries have already cut back usage in favour of cleaner alternatives.
According to the study, an estimated 1.25 billion tons of coal was transported by the maritime shipping industry. Major producers Indonesia and Australia contributed to 59% of the total exports. For comparison, worldwide coal shipments were estimated at 1.38 billion tons in 2019.
According to the research, seaborne coal shipping released 3.1 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere in 2020, accounting for about 10% of overall energy-related CO2 emissions last year. This represents just a slight decline from 3.4 billion tons of CO2 emitted from the sector in 2019. For the first five months of 2021, CO2 emissions from global seaborne coal shipments are estimated at 1.28 billion tons, decreasing slightly from 1.30 billion tons in the same period in 2020.
The group of seven wealthy nations in May pledged to stop international financing of carbon-emitting coal projects by the end of this year. Ember analyst Nicolas Fulghum expects the G7 move to put significant pressure on coal shipments. Fulghum said the lack of investment would likely slow down the future growth in coal demand.
